Qualitative Analysis of the Roles of Physicians and Nurses in Providing Decision Support to Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Leukemia and Lymphoma.

Introduction: This study examined the roles of hematologists and other professionals in providing decision support to patients with relapsed or refractory leukemia and lymphoma.

Methods: This was a qualitative study using in-depth semi-structured interviews involving 11 hematologists in Japan.

Result: We identified 7 categories related to the roles of hematologists in providing direct decision support to patients: (1) preparing patients before informed consent, (2) selecting the information to convey, (3) choosing a method for conveying this information, (4) respecting the intentions of patients and their families, (5) directing decision-making and considering fairness, (6) considering the emotional aspects of patients and their families, and (7) providing support after discussing treatment options.

Restriction of orientation variability and spatial frequency on the perception of average orientation.

During the observation of a single object, orientation and spatial frequency are jointly coded in an early stage of visual processing, as is evident from studies on the aftereffects of specific combinations of both these features. However, they become independent in the decision-making stage because observers can identify one feature while ignoring the other. Does this separability expand into the perception of ensemble representations? This study investigated the effect of the spatial frequencies of Gabor patches on orientation averaging.

Prognostic role of preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen level in part-solid lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: Part-solid lung adenocarcinoma appears as a heterogeneous subgroup, and its surgical management is controversial. This study aimed to elucidate whether preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen, a time-honored tumor marker, can be used as a prognostic factor that contributes to its management.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients with clinical-T1a-cN0M0 part-solid adenocarcinoma who underwent surgical resection between January 2011 and December 2015 at two institutions.

Benzo[a]pyrene aggravates atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in mice.

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) affects the immune system and causes mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. We aimed to evaluate the effects of systemic exposure to BaP on mite allergen-induced atopic dermatitis (AD)-like skin lesions in mice. Mite allergen (; Dp) was injected intradermally into the right ears of NC/Nga male mice on eight occasions every 2-3 days.

Long-Term Outcome of Sciatic Nerve Regeneration Using Bio3D Conduit Fabricated from Human Fibroblasts in a Rat Sciatic Nerve Model.

Previously, we developed a Bio3D conduit fabricated from human fibroblasts and reported a significantly better outcome compared with artificial nerve conduit in the treatment of rat sciatic nerve defect. The purpose of this study is to investigate the long-term safety and nerve regeneration of Bio3D conduit compared with treatments using artificial nerve conduit and autologous nerve transplantation.We used 15 immunodeficient rats and randomly divided them into three groups treated with Bio3D ( = 5) conduit, silicon tube ( = 5), and autologous nerve transplantation ( = 5).

Utility of real-time image fusion technology in ultrasonography-guided fiducial marker implantation for stereotactic body radiation therapy for liver tumors.

Background: Ultrasonography (US) is useful when implanting fiducial markers in the liver. However, the implant position is sometimes lost. Recently, real-time image fusion technology (Volume Navigation [V-navi]; GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI, USA) has been introduced as a technique for using images from different modalities, and its utility for fiducial marker implantation has been hypothesized.